When the North Texas spring gives you flowers. . .
. . . you get to use bluebonnet blossoms in your backyard-rose potpourri.
I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am that warm weather has finally arrived, but I’ll try. Tune in Friday for my tale of “spring-is-busting-out-all-over” happiness.
Thanks for reading,
Jan
They’re back–the British Republic’s President Zayn Winner and First Lady, Electra Winner–to make sure Presidential Spokesperson Howie Pond doesn’t accidentally catch a minute’s peace.
It seems the President, himself a former actor (and legend in his own mind), has written an inflammatory screenplay featuring current world leaders as characters. In a drunken evening out with a handful of Hollywood somebodies, he seems to have lost the first draft and plot notes.
Howie: “But you changed the names?”
Winner: “I was going to, buddy… when I typed the second draft.”
This screenplay was a global disaster waiting to happen. For once, Howie shows no reluctance. He’s on this investigation like white on rice.
Howie certainly has his ups and downs. He gets some help from his wife, the ever-alert Intelligence agent Britt. And yet he must also make the Ultimate Sacrifice: In the heat of sleuthing, he misses a meal.
If you’ve enjoyed the “We Have Lost” series so far, you’ll like the madcap action in this Great Weekend Read as much as ever.
Thanks for reading,
Jan
Here’s the rest of the story I alluded to in my recent post “Persona.”
For the first five of our nine days in Liberia, I tagged along with the team, attending church and visiting the local supporters and sister charities BESTWA is connected with. We met many people–children, medical personnel, teachers, the elderly, cooks, government officials, hospital patients, pastors–and got a feel for their culture and the challenges they face.
Daniel relaxing after a productive week
The one thing I didn’t get was any quiet time with our Liberian Field Director, Daniel, to listen to and record his stories. I’d recorded only a few conversations in the car, complete with road noise and music. And the occasional roar as we downshifted to charge up a particularly steep hill.
Anyway, by the fifth day I was beginning to panic. How am I gonna write a biography if there’s no time to interview the subject?
But soon the Lord brought me around to Romans 8:28. Oh, wait… He is working everything out for good. That helped me relax and submit to His sovereignty through our leadership. After all, information can be sent electronically. The main reason I needed to be in the country was to absorb the feel, the sounds and smells, the manners and personalities of ordinary citizens, the cadence of speech.
And that, I was doing. Nooooo problem.
Then suddenly, on the sixth day, we had no place to rush off to after breakfast and the team meeting. Daniel and I sat in the dining / conference room, fan humming softly in the background, and he told me about his childhood. His struggle to become educated. More struggles to survive and care for his family during the long civil war.
Daniel had overcome challenges that left my little frustrations in the shade.
Working with this courageous, unassuming man of God is a huge honor for me.
And now I have a framework to start assembling Daniel’s life story, and will have more opportunities to talk with him as the project goes along.
God was right. He knows what my project needs better than I do. He took every apparent obstacle and turned it into a blessing that benefits the work.
I hope you find my story encouraging. Whatever you’re doing, God knows what he’s doing and he has your best interest at heart.
Thanks for reading,
Jan
I’ve just read a delightful new book that I heard about from Kim, on her blog “By Hook or By Book.” Happily is an imaginative twist on the Cinderella story, told from the viewpoint of … well … I’ll let Amazon.com tell you about it.
Image from Amazon.com
If the shoe fits, wear it.
If it doesn’t, make it.Laure is a teenage street urchin just trying to get away. Where the rest of the world sees an enchanting love story, Laure sees royal incompetence and an opportunity to exploit it. She’ll have wealth and a way out of a life she detests, if she can only manage to hoodwink the royal family and survive to tell the tale.
I might as well admit it, my favorite thing about this book is the snarky, almost curmudgeonly voice of Laure, the main character. That, and her desperate, hare-brained schemes to escape the city and her destitute lifestyle. I don’t want to give spoilers, but this is one kids’ book that even we grandmas can enjoy.
What a hoot!
Er, I mean, what a Great Weekend Read!
Thanks for reading,
Jan
I love to laugh. You know that, and I know that.
What I don’t know is how I came across this website in the first place.
It was years ago, after my parents finally moved to a small house on a lake, where Dad could fish and they could watch birds. They parked their binoculars and bird book by the living room windows and put out a nice bird feeder.
Aaaaand started doing battle with squirrels, the little birdseed burglars. Were Mom and Dad successful?
Let’s just say that when we visited with our sons, Dad would invite them to bring along their Airsoft rifles.
Anyway, somehow I happened on this website called “Squirrel Stuff” — named, not after the birds that its customers love, but after the pesky little rodents who help themselves from their feeders.
Right away, I ordered these two coffee cups for my parents:
Mom and Dad LOVED ’em!
I find SquirrelStuff’s tongue-in-cheek humor refreshing, and thought I’d pass it along to you. Who knows, maybe you’re looking for a squirrel-proof baffle for your bird feeder. Or a coffee cup decorated with the guilty squirrel’s mug shot and rap sheet.
Here’s the link: http://squirrelstuff.com/
Your turn: Do you have any animal-pest war stories? It doesn’t have to be squirrels. Moles, armadillos, rabbits, mice, crickets… anything will do. Tell me about it in the “Leave a Reply” box below, and you will make my day.
Thanks for reading,
Jan
I may be the only person in America who has still not watched the movie Wonder, even though I really wanted to see it in the theater. But at least I’ve read the book, thanks to the local book club that formed recently.
Even if you are one of the rare birds who hasn’t seen the movie, you’ve probably seen trailers for it. So you know the premise: Auggie has been homeschooled because of his facial deformities and surgeries. For fifth grade, he goes to school for the first time, with plenty of angst about how the other students might treat him.
What I like about the book (and can’t imagine coming across well in the movie, but what do I know?) is the way Palacio shows events and characters’ actions through one point of view at a time. For instance, we see an action of Auggie’s classmate through Auggie’s eyes, then later see the same exchange through the classmate’s eyes.
Most of the pivotal characters have a section giving their point of view and in their own voice. Only two exceptions: No adults, not even Auggie’s parents, tell their story. And the only major child character whose point of view is not included is the Really Mean Boy.
I found the story heartbreaking and inspiring. It changed me by showing me how to better treat people with any kind of obvious handicap. As a bonus, it helped me understand why people can be well-intentioned, but still act in a less-than-desirable way.
I highly recommend this Great Weekend Read.
Thanks for reading,
Jan
